Belt with interchangeable accessories

ABSTRACT

A belt system including a waist encircling band, a plurality of spaced apart releasable attachments located about the band, and a plurality of interchangeable accessories releasably securable to the releasable attachments so as to substantially completely encircle the band and extend downwardly from the band to provide a skirt.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 61/408,198 filed Oct. 29, 2010, and entitled BELT WITH INTERCHANGEABLE ACCESSORIES, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of belts and skirts. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a belt configured to receive a plurality of interchanageable accessories to provide a skirt.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

Pom-poms or shakers are often used by sports enthusiasts to cheer for a team at a sporting event. However, it can be cumbersome to carry and keep up with shakers and other accessories while attending an event.

The present disclosure relates to a belt system that enables attachment of items, such as shakers, to result in a skirt structure, that is decorative and facilitates management of a plurality of shakers and/or other items of the enthusiast.

In one aspect, the belt system includes a waist encircling band, a plurality of spaced apart releasable attachments located about the band, and a plurality of interchangeable accessories releasably securable to the releasable attachments so as to substantially completely encircle the band and extend downwardly from the band to provide a skirt.

In another aspect, the disclosure provides a skirt, including, a waist encircling band; a plurality of spaced apart releasable attachments located about the band; and a plurality of pom-pom shakers releasably and interchangeably securable to the releasable attachments so as to substantially completely encircle the band and extend downwardly from the band to provide a skirt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantages of the disclosure are apparent by reference to the detailed description when considered in conjunction with the figures, which are not to scale so as to more clearly show the details, wherein like reference numbers indicate like elements throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a belt system according to the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a side plan view of the belt system of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the belt system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the belt system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a partial exploded perspective view of the belt system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to the drawings, there is shown a belt system 10 configured to have a plurality of interchangeable accessories, such as shakers 12 that can make a full skirt 14 once installed and provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

The belt system 10 can be further personalized for specific sporting or social events you are attending by adding or taking away the accessories described more fully below. Another advantage of having the ability to replace individual ones of the accessories is that as an individual one of the accessories may become dirty, worn, or broken, it can be replaced. Still another benefit is that the system enables a user to mix and match colors and accessories of their choosing to differentiate their skirt or create a custom look.

The belt system 10 includes an elongate waist-encircling band 16. The band 16 may be configured in various ways to be secured about the waist of the user, including as by having mating hook and loop material on cooperating opposite ends of the band 16, and use of conventional belt buckles, snaps, and the like. Preferred materials for making the band include durable polymeric mesh materials, such as vinyl mesh, with a piping or other edge finish for desired aesthetics, however, other materials may be used. The band 16 is configured to have a width of from about 2.5 to about 4 inches and a length commensurate with the waist of a user, such as from about 25 to about 45 inches. The band 16 may also be a continuous circle and made of an elastic material to snugly engage the waist of the user.

The shakers 12 may be elongate shakers having colorations commensurate with a desired team affiliation. The shakers 12 are each captured at their mid-point as by a releasable attachment 18, such as shown in FIG. 5, so as to hang downwardly a length sufficient to provide a skirt structure, such as from about 6 to about 14 inches. For example, the shakers 12 are prepared starting with a standard 12″ pom-pom shaker (500 streamers per pom-pom) attached to a stick, and removing the stick, leaving a circular disk 12 a that attaches the plastic streamers into a pom-pom shaker. The disk is turned upright and covered with ribbon, as by gluing the ribbon to the disk 12 a. The disk 12 a is then positioned to be retained by the attachment 18. However, it will be appreciated that other shaker configurations, structures, and attachment structure may be used.

The releasable attachments 18 are uniformly spaced about and secured to an exterior of the band 16. In one embodiment, the attachments 18 are provided as by straps 20 secured to the band 16 and having a fastener 22. The fasteners 22 may be spaced, for example, about 2.75 inches apart, starting about 2 inches from either end (measured from center to center of the fasteners 22). The fasteners 22 are preferably centered on the band 16, top to bottom. However, it will be appreciated that other spacings may be used.

The straps 20, for example, may have a length of from about 2.5 inches to about 4 inches. A first end of each strap 20 is secured to the band 16 and the strap is encircled and the free end secured to the band 16 by the fastener 22. The fasteners 22 may be a snap having a male portion 22 a secured to the band 16 and to the first end of each strap 10, with a female portion 22 b secured to the free end of each of the straps 20 and releasably securable to the male portion 22 a. Other structures may be used to releasably secure the shakers 12 or other accessories, such as mating hook and loop material, hooks, magnets, buttons, slide lock clasps, and the like.

In addition, besides the shakers 12, other accessories may be incorporated into the belt system 10, while still utilizing sufficient ones of the shakers 12 to yield the desired skirt structure. For example, additional accessories that may be included are pouches to hold credit cards, drink bottle holders or cozies for holding canned drinks, strings of beads, ribbons, rhinestones, feathers, lights, and the like. The skirt 14 may be made of a single type of accessory, or a mixture of two or more.

In this regard, it will be understood that the accessories, such as the shakers 12, substantially completely encircle the band 16 and extend downwardly from the band 16 to provide a structure that substantially overlies and covers the legs of the user to provide a skirt structure. Thus, while there may be small gaps and openings, such structure will still serve as a skirt, but with the components of the skirt being interchangeable.

The foregoing description of preferred embodiments for this disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments are chosen and described in an effort to provide the best illustrations of the principles of the disclosure and its practical application, and to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the disclosure in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 

1. A belt system, comprising: a waist encircling band; a plurality of spaced apart releasable attachments located about the band; and a plurality of interchangeable accessories releasably securable to the releasable attachments so as to substantially completely encircle the band and extend downwardly from the band to provide a skirt.
 2. The belt system of claim 1, wherein the releasable attachments comprise a strap having a first end secured to the band and a second free end releasably secured adjacent the first end.
 3. The belt system of claim 2, wherein the attachments further include snap fasteners, wherein a first portion of the snap fastener secures the first end of the strap to the band, and a second portion of the snap fastener matingly engages the first portion of the snap fastener and the second free end of the strap.
 4. The belt system of claim 1, wherein the accessories comprise pom-pom shakers.
 5. A skirt, comprising: a waist encircling band; a plurality of spaced apart releasable attachments located about the band; and a plurality of pom-pom shakers releasably and interchangeably securable to the releasable attachments so as to substantially completely encircle the band and extend downwardly from the band to provide a skirt. 